Late NFL star Pat Tillman's brother pleads guilty to setting fire at California post office

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FILE - This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into a Post Office, early July 20, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Fire Department via AP, File)

FILE - Former Arizona State player Pat Tillman's wife Marie Tillman, center, and his brother Richard Tillman, left, applaud as they watch Pat's name and jersey number enshrined in the university's ring of honor during halftime ceremonies between Washington State and Arizona State, Nov. 13, 2004, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors, File) — FILE - This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into a Post Office, early July 20, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Fire Department via AP, File)

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9:53 AM on Wednesday, February 11

The Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The youngest brother of late NFL star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman pleaded guilty this week to setting fire to a San Jose, California, post office last summer.

Richard Tillman, 44, was arrested on July 20 after he rammed a car into the post office in a strip mall and then set the vehicle ablaze. The lobby of the building went up in flames. Nobody was hurt.

Tillman, of San Jose, on Monday entered a guilty plea in federal court to malicious destruction of government property.

“In pleading guilty, Tillman admitted that he intentionally set the fire in order to ‘make a point to the United States government,’” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

Prosecutors didn't say what point Tillman was trying to make.

U.S. Postal Inspector Shannon Roark said in July that Tillman told officers at the scene he had livestreamed the incident on YouTube.

Tillman, who remains in federal custody, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced on April 27.

After the crash, his brother Kevin Tillman said in a statement that Richard Tillman had been suffering from “severe mental health issues” for many years, and the family was relieved no one was hurt.

Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after 9/11 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 at age 27. His family is from the San Jose area.

Kevin Tillman also left his Major League Baseball career with the Anaheim Angels to serve in the military.